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Knights of the Blackened Claw Initiates
While the ranks of the Knights of the Blackened Claw contains a number of powerful Death Knights, they are not the majority of its numbers. The orgnaisation's rank and file is made up of a number of "lesser" Death Knights, culled from the ranks of those who had the misfortune to fall before the Scourge. Reborn as Death Knight Initiates, these unfortunate individuals have no choice but to serve their undead masters. As a Death Knight trainers, Karl Baarfden uses his position to locate recruits for his personal order. His choices are primarily based on those who impress him with their skills or at least potential, however, on occasion he has recruited an initiate for some less obvious reasons. Regardless of his reasons, all are expected to follow him (and his other knights) unquestioningly. Even though they are "lesser" Death Knights raided form the dead rather then chose who chose to serve, these initiates are still a powerful force to be reckoned with, far more capable then even the strongest skeleton or ghoul. However, in the end, they are ultimately considered to be expendable, just as much as the lesser Scourge they control. Anders Deadman Anders Deadman has the dubious distinction of having died twice. A Forsaken warrior with very little memory of his past life (his name was assigned to him by a particularly mean-spirited undertaker in Deathknell), he was a determined enemy of the Scourge as well as the humans that threatened the Forsaken's Holdings. When he wasn't fighting in the Plaugelands, he would be found aiding the Defilers in their efforts to seize the Arathi Basin. However, during one particularly long and arduous battle, Anders was grievously wounded by the Scourge forces. Assailed by several Necromancers, he was all but destroyed, only to be raised as a near-mindless minion; in essence, restored to his original Scourge state. However, he retained his knowledge and abilities, as well as his battle experience. As a result, he was chosen to become one of the new Death Knights created to attack the Scarlet Enclave. Gene Shirt Once a member of the Lordaeron Military, Knight-Captain Gene Shirt was one of the so-called "Dark Knights", knighted officers who were not of noble birth, but none the less in command of the nation's armies. He managed to survive the fall of the kingdom, going on to fight in several battles afterwards. In each case, he would manage to escape from certain defeat, finding other units to join forces with. However, as the numbers of survivors dwindles - or joined the ranks of the Scarlet Crusade, Gene found himself isolated. A chance encounter saw him join forces with a group of professional adventurers; Gene agreeing to aid them and provide his knowledge of Plaugelands to aid them. However, even he was not prepared for the appearance of several Death Knights; Gene and his allies were cut down. However, he was then reborn as one of the Scourge; rather then transforming him into a mindless undead, he was preserved simply so the Scourge's leadership could gather information on any Alliance forces that may remain in Lordaeron. Sir Karl chose him to be a part of the Blackened Claw not because of his knowledge or skill, however. He simply recognised Shirt as a former subordinate. Irene Lamb Irene Lamb was a human rouge, nicknamed "Stinger" for her vicious, sudden strikes. While claiming loyalty to Stormwind, she was somewhat mercenary in nature, always looking out for herself before anyone else. And while she aided the Alliance's cause, she was mainly looking for ways that she could improve her own situation and standing. At the end of the day, she was more then willing to cut and run if things looked bad for her. This tactic backfired on her during an attack on Scourge-held positions in Andorhal. Seeing that her allies were in danger of being overwhelmed, she chose to abandon them and retreat. However, instead she stumbled across a powerful Necromancer who easily dispatched her. Revived afterwards, Irene was inducted into the Scourge as a Death Knight in the service of the Blackened Claw. Ironically, the transformation seems to have had at least one beneficial side effect; Irene is a selfless, unyielding soldier of the Lich King, more then willing to sacrifice herself if needs be. Irene Lamb was killed in Northrend by the renegade Death Knight Sellek Lerenze Kanon Raiga Born and raised in Stormwind, Kanon Raiga trained to be a mage from a young age. Somewhat idealistic, she tended to be overly defensive and snap at people who didn't agree with her beliefs. She seemed to be especially easily irritated at those who wrote sappy romantic fiction about real people. Despite these oddities, she was a capable mage, more then willing to blow stuff up for a good cause. Joining a group of adventurers, she participated in an attack on Scholomance, aiming to disrupt the Scourge's training facilities. However, the force was overwhelmed, especially when what appeared to be half the occupants of the facility attacked them at once. In spite of her abilities, Kanon was left near death and caught inside the facility. However, the knowledge she possessed was deemed useful, and as such she was reborn as a Death Knight. In battle, Kanon prefers to use their various diseases and undead minions as weapons, rather then attack opponents directly. Despite this, however, her physical abilities should not be underestimated. Niklos Walken For Niklos Walken, becoming a Death Knight was a matter of swapping one master for another, albeit unwillingly. Formerly a Warlock, Niklos sought greater powers then could be offered by other, more traditional paths of Magic. While he paid lip service to the Alliance, claiming to be using his powers "for the greater good", the truth was that such was only a way of protecting himself. In spite of this, he did have a degree of loyalty to his home and people. He also could dance really well. Despite the dangers, he willingly joined an expedition to Shcolomance in the hope of gathering information that he could use to further his own aims. However, things did not go as expected, and he soon found himself surrounded by the undead Legions. Falling to the Scourge, he was reborn as a Death Knight Initiate. While he has lost his former Warlock abilities, Niklos has retained much of his knowledge. As such, he is still a cunning and dangerous foe. It is not known how his death and transformation has affected his ability to dance. Morgon the Red Morgon Hammerhands was a Dwarven warrior, nicknamed "Morgon the Red" for his thick beard, ruddy complexion and explosive temper. A skilled warrior, he served the Alliance and his people faithfully, doing battle with the Dark Horde, the Scourge and other threats to the land. While he did seem to easily get into trouble, his skills as well as his companions were usually enough to save him from whatever it was that he had gotten himself into. He would then make it up to them with lots of drinks. Unfortunately, they were not enough to save him during an attack on Scholomance. Something went wrong, and soon Morgon and his group found themselves outnumbered and surrounded. Mogrom continued to fighting, but succumbed to the inevitable, being defeated and apparently slain. However, his body was revived, and transformed into a Death Knight. Retaining his ferocity after his rebirth, it was this trait that saw him drafted into the Knights of the Blackened Claw, and assigned to the force arrayed against the Scarlet Enclave. Phodda In life, Phodda was a friendly and amicable, if slightly dopey, Tauren Shaman. A dedicated servant of the elements, she had chosen to serve the Horde as a healer. Even though she preferred to avoid violence, Phodda was more then willing to join her fellows in battle to protect the Horde and their new homelands. She had travelled far and wide, working with various Horde groups at different times. Joining with a group of other Horde members, Phodda took part in an attack on Scourge-held Scholomance. Unfortunately, the Scourge forces proved to be too much for their forces; they were trapped, surrounded and apparently killed. Phodda, however, survived, albeit very near death. Raised by Scourge Necromancers, she became one of the new generation of Death Knights. While one of the Knights of the Blackened Claw, Phodda's combat abilities are considered marginal at best. At one point, a Performance Review suggested simply killing her and turning her into a ghoul; however, in light of recent losses at Archerus, her place seems to be secure for the moment. Traag Slaughter A survivor of the Burning Blade clan, Traag refused to join the New Horde under Thrall, seeing them as being "weak" and "soft on humans". Instead, he freely roamed Kalimdor, looking for things to fight. Unfortunately, for him, he was captured by an enterprising group of Goblins, who put him to work in the Dire Maul arena as a pitfighter. He quickly earned a reputation for ferocity and brutality, garnering the nickname "Slaughter". His success impressed a passing Horde group who bought him from the Goblins. Their intent was to use him as a weapon in an assault on Andorhal, aiming to take out the Scourge presence there. However, they were ill-prepared for the numbers of Horde present. The group were defeated, Slaughter the last to fall. However, that was not the end; he was recreated as a Death Knight and sent again into battle. While his will is no longer his own, he still retains the same ferocity and propensity for violence, as well as the same unyielding, unrelenting nature. Unlike many Death Knights, he used two smaller blades rather then a single massive Runeblade. His unusual fighting style and experience weren't enough to save him when attacked by the renegade Death Knight, Jill Valdaar who defeated him. Category:Characters Category:Scourge Category:Knights of the Blackened Claw Category:Articles by Darthfish